A Perpetual Cycle of Bad Luck
by TheShadowOfHelen
Summary: A different choice on the Evil Queen's part leads to a different ending in a story book, a harder path to revenge and getting stuck in a seemingly never ending circle of tragedy brought on by her own actions. But then again, if people never needed to be saved then what would be the purpose of saviors? Extremely AU, and with Swan Queen as Endgame.
1. Chapter 1: Oblivion

**This is AU, really, really AU. Keep that in mind. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did...bad things, very bad things would happen. The first thing to go would be my ever decreasing sanity, and then several key characters from the show would tragically die or fall into sleeping curses. But now I'm off topic. So I don't own anything.**

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-Eight Years Ago-

To Regina it felt almost like sleeping. Sleeping for a very long time. But like all sleep, it didn't feel as long as it really was. The strangeness of the situation was going to be a challenge to adjust to, especially knowing that in the span of what felt like only a few short seconds twenty years had actually gone by.

Few had been left untouched by that part of her revenge. Although she noted that a small corner of the world had not been effected. This, she concluded, had something to do with Rumplestilking, who showed up in the dark frigid castle she called home a few days after the stasis spell had worn off.

The imp, at times, acted like a child, but he was far more dangerous and resourceful. And although his face was only half lit by the torches, his smirk, always bordering between playful and insane, was visible even from a great distance.  
"It took a bit, dearie, but I never break a promise. I found the child for you. The rest is up to you. And you of course already know the price for my services."  
"I know, exactly what our deal was. Why you would ask for something that turned out to be quite worthless makes me question your sanity." The queen stated, a hint of irritation in her voice. "Although at this point I don't care if you turn out to be crazy as long as I get my part of the bargain."

"You will." Rumplestiltskin said, pointing a single finger at her and completely changing the subject, as he informed her, "You really have to do something about your security. I believe your huntsman just escaped carrying his heart in a box."

The queen narrowed her dark eyes at him, "You _helped_ him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because now that he's escaped, you'll need someone to retrieve him."

* * *

• –– –– •–

Two sets of heavy footfalls broke the silence of the forest, dark shadows rushing past and invading the little moonlight that made it through the canopy of the trees.

The first set of footfalls, lithe but straining, belonged to a small and rather skinny man. He was dressed in simple yet expensive clothing, holding his hat against the top of his head with one hand while the other clutched an extremely interesting seemingly iridescent flute.

The second was harder to define, a swift figure, cloaked in darkness, fast as an arrow from a steady bow, barreling past and lunging for the piper with uncanny accuracy, brining both of them to the ground.

With skill that could have only been gained from experience, the bounty hunter grasped the upper hand, successfully getting the piper to taste dirt while simultaneously tying his hands together.

The piper protested, struggling to no avail, "Let me go! I can give you gold if that's what you want! Just let me go!"

His pleas were met with a simple menacing,"No."

The flute, lying a few feet away, was stomped on by a heavy boot, eliciting a loud crack as its magical properties escaped. And then the piper understood his hopeless predicament.

He was pulled up from behind by the bounty hunter, but made no effort to get to his feet. That choice led him to once again slam into the forest soil when bounty hunter abruptly let him go. He wriggled in panic, rolling over to see his capturer disappear before his eyes in a cloud of purple smoke.

The bounty hunter reappeared behind the heavy iron bars of a dungeon. She stumbled, surprised at the unexpected turn of events. But this wasn't the first dungeon she'd had the pleasure of being locked in. She lunged for the bars, grasping and shaking them with all her strength.

They didn't budge.

She huffed, irritated, before shaking the bars once more and yelling out "Let me go!"

"_That_ would defeat the purpose of getting you here." A low feminine voice countered as the queen whom it belonged to entered the room, dressed in dark clothes and looking every inch the intimidating woman she was. "I can see you've inherited a few traits from your father, and that chin looks familiar too."

"What the hell do you want?" The bounty hunter asked, suddenly tense at the mention of her parents, her knuckles gripping the bars so tightly they started shaking.

"I want you to find someone for me, and then I want you to bring him back. You know, the usual."

"Why can't you just use your magic, witch?"

"It's queen, actually. And I can't use magic because he's in a place that is protected against me." The queen said, her voice becoming menacing, "And while I can't reach him, you can."

"Why would I do anything for you, after you've trapped me?"

"Because it would be beneficial for both of us."

"Exactly how so?" The bounty hunter scoffed.

"I get my huntsman and you get your life and your freedom back." The queen answered before stepping closer to the bounty hunter, "Look at it this way, you either do your job or you rot in this dungeon for the rest of your life."

Their eyes locked, green against brown, a stared own, the bounty hunter trying to see if the queen was bluffing, while the other seemed to be waiting for her to give in.

And when neither happened, the queen simply smirked, and walked away, her voice echoing through the desolate walls, haunting the bounty hunter, "You have until tomorrow to make your choice. Choose wisely or I'll figure out a different way. One that will not be as...diplomatic."

And the bounty hunter noted, in pessimism, that the queen was not lying.

* * *

-Present Time-

It was as if there was a hurricane around them, a thundering wind pushing and pulling them in all directions. The air was thick, as if they were stuck in a cloud of grey, crackling and flashing with purple and blue lightning.

Yet in the chaos all she could focus on was the heartbroken look on the woman she was facing. Her green eyes were shocked, full of pain and betrayal. Her long blond hair flying everywhere as a pair of tear streaks broke through the dirt and grime on her face. She was struggling to breathe, barely able to stand from an injury Regina couldn't see. But even then a single strained sentence managed to break from her lips, slightly louder than a whisper, with the punch of a scream, "You...you didn't have to...do this."

Regina heard herself respond, her tone broken, low, and heavy with regret, "I'm sorry."

And then the wind increased even more, pushing darkness all around them as everything faded back into nothing.

And then Regina Mills woke up. Still in her bed, still in her house, still the mayor of Storybrooke.

She felt odd, unsettled, but it wasn't the first time. That nightmare had been yet another constant in her life, its appearances, on the contrary, were hectic, coming and going infrequently. with for as long as she could remember.

And like every time she had that nightmare, she adjusted her schedule in order to pay a visit to the hospital, where she walked to the back of the recovery room, behind a glass divider, to see Emma Swan on a hospital bed, unconscious after the sheriff had crashed into a street sigh.

Regina remembered seeing it happen as she was just leaving her her house. She remembered calling for an ambulance as she checked the sheriff's pulse, relieved to find one, but worried for the large shrapnel of glass that had pieced the blond women's torso.

At the end of the day the sheriff was still alive, but in a coma, one that was as uncertain when it came to it's duration as a the chances of a meteorite striking the earth. It would happen, Emma Swan would wake up, but as for when...that's where the guessing came in.

Regina always checked up on the comatose sheriff after having that nightmare. More out if habit now, than anything else.

At first she was truly worried, paranoid even, because as it would happen, she was quite certain that the first time she'd had that nightmare had been the night before the sheriff had crashed her car.

She stepped closer to the hospital bed, and hand landing on its metal railing. She considered breaking the routine then, excepting that nothing else would happen. Perhaps the sunlight and moonlight that streaked through the hospital's window would continue to illuminate miss Swan until the world ended.

But that's not really what she wanted. Because it seemed as if the town, and the people in it, were living in circles. Monotonous and annoyingly unchanging circles.

Maybe some part of her wished that one day Emma would wake up, just to change things, to break the cycle. So before leaving, Regina smiled at the sheriff, fully aware that no one was listening, before voicing her thoughts, "For you sake, and mine, I hope you recover."

And then she left, back to the ten mile an hour racetrack she knew as life, unaware that it was Emma's twenty eighth birthday.

And exactly one hour and forty eight minutes after Regina left, a pair of green eyes blinked opened for the first time in eight years, at the exact moment the clock tower on top of the library began to work again.

It was eight fifteen, and the final battle had finally began.

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**And now that the first chapter is done, expect to see the second chapter published by or before this friday. **

**Feel free to tell me what you think, whether you liked it or not, and if you didn't, why, and also if you'd like to keep reading or not. Any predictions, or general opinions on this chapter are also welcomed.**

**I have proofread this chapter about a million times already, and yet I do tend to miss obvious mistakes, if you see any, feel free to tell me, and I'll rush to fix it. **

**And if you're like WTF did I just read...well then, I succeeded.**

**And that is all.**

**:) **


	2. Chapter 2: Awakened

**Disclaimer: I don' own anything. That's a very good thing. **

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It was strange really, at first she felt nothing, absolutely nothing, not even the slightest indication of being alive.  
And then she remembered a voice, a voice pulling her into consciousness, dragging her up into a light, slowly but persistent, a voice whose words continued to repeat in her head like a mantra. A wish she wanted to grant.

_'For your sake and mine, I hope you recover.'_

It pulled at her gently until it gave a painful last tug and then an incredibly heavy feeling settled over her chest, uncomfortably constricting before suddenly letting go. Her eyes blinked open only milliseconds before she started gasping for air, clawing feebly at the contraption in her nose as people she didn't know began to rush into her glass room, exclaiming of miracles.

They told her everything would be alright, that she was okay.

But if that was true...why was it that she couldn't remember anything?

Her name was Emma, that's what they told her, and although some part of her sensed that they were telling the truth, the rest could only vaguely associate it with herself.

Everything around her looked and felt wrong. Her subconscious screamed at her that she didn't belong there, that something was missing. It all happened in a blur, and eventually things started to pop into her head, slowly, randomly when she needed the information. Like an unknown force was educating her. She was in a hospital, the people around her were nurses, and the guy in front of her looking at a nearby monitor was a doctor.

But when she thought about it, she literally had no past to think back to. And she was pretty sure that wasn't normal. How she was sure it wasn't normal was automatically supplied to her.

The doctor, his name was Dr. Whale, and whenever he told her a picture of an actual whale entered her mind, said that she was very lucky. He looked overly smug as he recalled how hard he had to work to stabilize her, but Emma knew that her recovery had nothing to do with luck.

It was that voice.

And perhaps it had to do with its owner, and that led her to make a promise to herself to find them.

* * *

–Eight Years Earlier–

Hunger got to her first. It was often a constant in her life. Whether it was because she had opted to skip eating in order to get the next bounty or because she simply forgot.

Maybe it was just her.

But she felt hungry, and that made her miserable. Her nonexistent optimism just kept getting more...nonexistent.

On the bright side, things were looking good for her pessimistic side.

Simply said, she was trapped in a dungeon, it was cold in there, she was starving, and her back was going to be ruined by the stone wall she was leaning against.

All because some queen, who was able to do magical things, had poofed her in there in order to what? Hire her?

Emma already had her freedom, she wasn't going to stand in there and do nothing.

Besides, she did have a couple tricks up her sleeve.

And a knife. She had that up her sleeve as well.

Both always come in handy.

She hoisted herself up making her way towards the front of her cell. Of course she had her sword with her, but trying to whack away the iron bars with it would only leave her with a mangled weapon and a sore arm. She hadn't lock picked in a while, but if that failed there was always plan C.

Lock picking did not work. Mostly because the first thing she noticed about her cell, after close inspection, was that it lacked an actual movable door or lock.

What the hell?

Magic, magic got her in there.

Which meant if she happened to be able to use magic...well, the cell could be protected against it.

Her plan C had evaporated in a cloud of foul smelling smoke.

"Damn."

She looked around, her eyes straining in the dark. Emma was not in the best predicament. She slumped against the bars, her chin resting on a crossbeam as she realized she was not getting out of there soon.

She'd have to wait for a guard, ask to see the queen and then make a run for it. The thing was though, she had spent at least a day there already, and had yet to see anyone other than the queen.

And speaking of the queen, Emma could hear her walking in the darkness, footsteps getting closer and closer, rhythmic and confident.

Emma started on her default last choice response, bluffing, "It's not going to work, I'll find a way out."

"I doubt that, dear. That particular cage is prepared for anything you might try to do. Including your own magic, which I'm sure you've discovered."

The blonde narrowed her eyes, glaring at the queen. "So I don't have a choice. Whether I want to or not, the only way for me to get out is to take your deal."

"Yes. I've stated that already."

The bounty hunter thought about it, looking away from the wicked smile the queen was wearing. Her hands gripped the bars once more, green eyes darkening in anger, "Who told you about me?"

"I have my resources, dear."

"Then what do your resources know about me? About my parents?"

"You're an orphan. You have no parents."

"You said you knew my father, who was he?" Emma asked, masking the anger at the queen's comment, and trying to figure out the greatest mystery in her life.

The Queen considered the question, her dark brown eyes subconsciously veering to the right, "I'll make you a new deal, since clearly your freedom and life is not enough for you. I'll give you all the information you seek on both of your family and yourself, after I get my huntsman back."

Perhaps she would find out what she always expected, or maybe hold on to the hope that her parents had a good reason for abandoning her, either way the concept of finally knowing drew her in, "You just want me to find your huntsman, that's it? And you'll tell me everything you know about them?"

"Yes."

"Just promise me one thing," Emma asked, her eyes glinting dangerously, "After all this is done and over with, you will leave me be."

"Very well, when the I have what I want, yes, I'll leave you to go do whatever it is you were doing before."

"Then, your majesty, we have a deal."

•–•• ––– ••• –

A great distance away from the evil queen's castle, in the deep of a lush green forest and overlooking a lake, a different castle loomed. This one was lighter, warming, more welcoming.

And inside the entire war council had been assembled, plus one desperate huntsman, "She'll come looking for me, and then you, she won't stop until she's had her revenge."

"And then we'll stop her." Prince James assured him, "You're safe behind these walls."

Next to him Snow looked across the table towards the huntsman, her green eyes worried, "Huntsman, I need to know, did you hear anything about my daughter?"

"Rumplestilking took her, they both escaped the curse."

"Then we must start searching." The prince stated, before asking the huntsman, "Do you know how much time has passed?"

"Roughly twenty years."

"But...then that means that she's no longer a child." Snow realized, before turning to James with sorrow, "We've missed so much. What if something happened to her?"

"We will find her, and then we can set everything right again." The prince reassured her, taking a hold of her hand.

The council was blissfully unaware that the evil queen would not, in fact, visit the castle, but instead send a bounty hunter their way.

* * *

–Present Day–

The hospital staff eventually left her alone. And it wasn't long before Emma received her first visit. She had been trying to remember, but couldn't as much as she tried. With no past or history, who was she? Sure she was Emma Swan, but who was that, who had she been before waking up in the hospital.

She didn't even notice when the door opened, too consumed by her own thoughts, until a voice, slightly familiar, broke through with a small greeting, "Hello."

She looked up, her eyes meeting the oddly identical ones of a dark haired woman with a pixie haircut, "Hi."

"Dr. Whale said you didn't remember much. I'm Mary Margaret, I'm a friend."

"Oh."

"What do you remember?" Mary Margaret asked as she saw the puzzled expression on the blonde.

"Nothing. I don't remember anything." Emma told her, sullenly staring off, "I know that I've met you before, I get a faint feeling of familiarity, but I don't remember."

"Well, hopefully it will all come back to you soon. In the mean time I'll help you adjust." Mary Margaret smiled, before remembering something, "Here, I brought you something, in case you get bored, and maybe you'll remember something."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a large leather bound book, handing it to Emma as she explained, "It was the only book you owned, so I figured it must have been especial."

"Thanks." Emma smiled, looking over the book, maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't, but glancing up at the her forgotten friend she realized that at least she wasn't alone. "Can you tell me about who I was, before?"

"Um, sure." Mary Margaret answered pulling up a chair next to the bed and sitting down, "You were the sheriff, and one of my closest friends."

–••• •–• ––– –•– • –•

It was supposed to be a normal day, and aside from a dream and a hospital visit it has been. But Regina found herself frozen in her stool. Her ears picking up the gossip being exchanged by her seat. The coma patient had awakened. That very day. And for some reason Regina had momentarily lost the ability to move.

Something had begun, things were going to change. The cycle was broken.

And for the first time in a while, the mayor genuinely smiled.

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**A/N:So that's chapter two.**

**Let me explain the story a bit better. Instead of being cursed, Snow white's kingdom, Evil Queen included, was literally frozen for twenty years. Baby Emma escaped, how is yet to be revealed, and became a bounty hunter. And that's when the first part of the story takes place. The second is eight years later, when the curse is in place. And neither Regina or Emma have their fairytale memories...yet. **

**What will happen next?**

**Fear not, my master plan will be revealed as the story progresses. **

**Meanwhile feel free to comment, give instructive criticism, yell at me for spelling things wrong, leave predictions, and tell me what you think. **


	3. Chapter 3: Pawns Of Power

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, or it's characters. **

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––• ••– •–•• •–•• •– –••• •–•• •

Green eyes starred out into the vast forest, carrying worry so heavy they seemed to lose color, hope. They became red around the edges, moist when they faded out of focus, dripping down when their owner snapped back into reality with a new revelation, "It hurts, not knowing if she's even alive."

"But she is. She's our daughter and I know that if she takes after you, then she's a survivor by nature." Charming reassured her, his eternal optimism as persistent as their love for one another.

"We need to go out there, David, we need to start searching now!" Snow exclaimed, undeterred as she walked back into their bedroom.

"We already are, Red and the others are out there and, as soon as the kingdom is stable enough, we will join them, and we will find her."

Snow looked back to her husband's blue eyes, contemplating, "What about the evil queen? If the Huntsman's right, then it means she's planning something, she still wants her revenge."

"We've defeated her before, and we'll do it again. I won't stop fighting." Her husband told her, waking closer and grabbing both of her hands, "I know things aren't as they're meant to be right now. But it will all work itself out, after everything we've been through our fortunes can only get better."

He was wrong, because things could always, always, get worse.

––• •–• • • –•• –•–•

In a village close by, the bounty hunter had arrived for short stopping point before she had to break into the castle nearby. Emma had left her brand new, borrowed steed just outside of the village along with most of her weapons to avoid suspicions. She had been quick to realize, on her way there, that she was in the infamous frozen kingdom, which had been apparently unfrozen.

Emma had heard about it before, she'd even stumbled onto the boundary. She had seen the color of the forest she'd been making her way through change into an icy blue tone. She had walked up to it, seeing her warm breath in front of her as it seemed to hit an invisible wall. She'd spotted a woodsman on the other side, axe in mid swing, unmoving. She'd correctly assumed that the rest of the population had been under similar effects. An entire kingdom under a spell for decades.

"Passing through?" Asked an elderly woman selling fruit in the village square. She sat on a small wooden stool, hunched over with age behind a small cart filled to the brim with produce.

"Yes, I'm on my way to visit relatives." Emma lied, grabbing a green apple from one of the crates and holding it up, "How much?"

"Oh it's alright take it. I gather you must be worried about them, being frozen for so long."

"Quite so. Um...would you mind pointing me in the direction of the summer palace?"

"Not at all. Might you be a royal in disguise, child?"

Emma chuckled at the ludicrous idea, "I would hope so, but unfortunately I'm only related to those who serve them."

"Ah, but you've surely heard the story of the queen's younger days. but on to business, the palace is through that road, just follow it and you won't miss it." The old lady pointed out, the mild breeze catching strands of her short silver hair. "It's a shame, what happened to her majesty, don't you think?"

"I haven't heard." Emma responded, furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, "What happened?"

"Queen Snow's firstborn was stolen away, some think the child was taken so far she escaped the spell that froze us all."

Emma paused, feeling slightly sympathetic, "Oh. Well, for what it's worth, I hope they find her."

The old woman burst out in high pitched laughter, her hazel eyes seeming to glint golden for a millisecond, "Dearie, the royal family has a knack for finding each other, I wouldn't worry one bit."

Emma nodded, trying not to smile awkwardly as the elder's sudden outburst was unnerving, "That's great. Thank you for your generosity but I must get on with my journey, my family awaits."

The old lady nodded and as Emma turned to leave she didn't notice that the older woman's kind smile turned into a sinister smirk, or that as soon as Emma was out of earshot she giggled in an unusually high pitch and said, "Indeed they do."

* * *

-Present Time-  
•–– • •– –•–

Emma could only stare off into the distance for so long.

Eventually she fought off the thought that children's books were for only for children, and reached over, grabbing the book Mary Margaret gave her to pass the time. She managed to read all the way through the first story, the one about Snow White, before getting restless and flipping through the pages, looking at the illustrations instead.

Emma stopped at the end of the book, the last image catching her attention. It showed a woman standing in a blur of dark colors, in the middle of a storm, with wind and lightning. The features of her face in turmoil and regret. The angle was over the shoulder of a hunched figure with blond curls flying in the wind.

She could almost imagine it in her mind, the wind roaring as dust flew everywhere, the sky dark and ominous above them, and the woman facing her, an apology falling from her red lips before the pain in Emma's chest became too much and she succumbed to the darkness.

She snapped back into the reality of her hospital room, wondering if perhaps that had been a memory. No. It couldn't be. It was a book, a fiction book, there was not way.

She looked at the next page, her eyes scanning through the writing until she figured out which character was in the image. It was the Evil Queen from Snow White, and another she hadn't heard before, the bounty hunter.

As her eyes remained locked on the writing on the page, watching it blur in an out of focus as her mind wandered. She thought about how the evil queen and the bounty hunter sounded like an interesting story, one she would have to read later. And as that train of thought proceeded, she absentmindedly noticed the evil queen entering her room through her peripheral vision.

Wait...what?

Emma's head snapped up, and sure enough a dark haired woman who strangely resembled the one in her book was there. The friendly smile on her face, the shorter hair and the dramatic change in wardrobe told Emma that this was not the Evil Queen.

"Good morning, Miss Swan." That voice...that was the voice. "I'd never think the former sheriff would be interested in children's books."

"Nothing else to do." Emma shrugged, giving one last glance down to the evil queen before shutting the book and looking back up to the woman on front of her. She motioned to a nearby table with her head, she frowned looking disappointed, "I couldn't reach the remote to the TV."

"I see." The woman told her, amused, before realizing, "I suppose you don't even know who I am."

"No clue." Emma shook her head, she furrowed her eyebrows, the woman looked familiar in almost the same way Mary Margaret did, "Did I know you? Before?"

"Not well. I'm Regina Mills, the mayor of this town." She held out her hand, which Emma shook weakly, still fatigued by the coma.

"So what brings you here, Mayor Mills?"

"As you might have learned, you've been unconscious for quite a while. And in your absence I had to appoint a new sheriff, and although the fact that you lost your memory poses a bit of a problem, I think I can help." Regina said, "There is enough money in the police department to hire you. At first you can just help out in the office, answering phones and filing files, and when you regain your memory you can work as deputy."

"Wow. Um...thanks." Emma smiled, pleasantly surprised, "A lot."

"It's nothing, the current sheriff could use any help he can get." The mayor responded lightly, before checking her watch, "Anyways, I have a town to run, and you need your rest. Goodbye Miss Swan."

She left, and Emma watched, a small smile on her face, mirroring the Mayor.

•• ––• –• ––– •–• •– –• –

A dark stallion rode swiftly through the forest, the sun setting to the west as the last slivers of sunlight faded over the tree line. As soon as the massive structure of the summer palace came into view the rider took to the trees, hiding behind thick vegetation and securing the horse to a nearby tree.

Emma dismounted, quickly reaching inside her leather satchel and pulling out a pitch black cloak with the queen's crest embroiled on the shoulders. It was a strange request, but she figured the lady really wanted her message to sound official, if Emma was captured that is.

She took a deep breath, securing the cloak on her shoulders and pulling the hood over her head. It would be difficult, but not impossible. She hated to admit it, but Emma did want to know more about her parents, and her past, even after all these years.

And then the bounty hunter weaved through the darkness, forwards towards the castle, a mere flicker of darkness among the trees, noticed only by the queen as she gazed down from her balcony. Snow squinted, trying to find the figure she'd seen, but eventually giving up and deciding it must have been wildlife.

She didn't see the grappling hook that landed near an unoccupied watchtower, or the figure that scaled up the wall and over. No one did.

Until it was too late. And it was then that Snow spotted the bounty hunter's dark cloak, unmistakably from the evil queen, as it waved in the wind, glinting in the moonlight. Her heartbeat increased to an even faster rate when she spotted the figures below the bounty hunter's hiding place.

It was the huntsman and her husband, on their way to talk to her, conversing casualty as they walked, oblivious of the danger from above.

The young queen didn't think, she simply leaned over the side and yelled in warming, "Charming!"

Three sets of eyes looked up to meet hers.

Emma was the first to spot the snitch, a figure leaning over a balcony on one of the towers. The bounty hunter cursed, "Shit."

And the king below heard it, his blue eyes locking with Emma's and without hesitation, because she'd realize what had to be done, she jumped down.

The huntsman was the closest to her landing spot, lunging and getting hit by the hilt of her sword before her knee flew up to connect with his face, successfully incapacitating him as he crumbled to the stone floor.

Then the metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed caused her to turn just in time to avoid the blade headed for her head.

"She sent you, didn't she?" The man she assumed was the king, simply by the clothes he was wearing asked, his voice dripping with venom, "Why?"

"She wants him back." Emma said, motioning towards the huntsman while keeping her eyes on the king, watching to see if he made a move.

"I won't allow it." He said, before swinging his sword at her with lighting speed.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, I finally finished this chapter, yay. Anyways next chapter will be up by either thursday or friday depending on how long I get distracted watching videos of people sword fighting. **

**Feel free to comment, encourage, yell at me for spelling something wrong, instructive criticism is welcomed. **


	4. Chapter 4: Casualties Of Tragedy

**Hello, I finally updated. I apologize for wait.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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— — — •••• • •—• •••

The dark figure dodged again, making David dash forward to regain his balance. He spun around, yanking his sword through the air where the figure blocked it with the flat of their sword and pushed him back with a kick to his torso.

They stood, tense, facing each other, unaware of how closely their stances matched. Even in the moonlight the figure's face was shadowed by their hood, and the only thing David could see was a confident smirk. He lunged forward, sword out to stab the intruder as he demanded, "Why did she send you?"

She pushed his sword aside with her own, metal clanking against metal, "She wants the huntsman."

"You will fail then." David stated as they continued on with their fight, dodging and blocking sword swings.

"What make you so sure?"

"Your bounty has escaped."

The bounty hunter almost froze, quickly connecting the dots and realizing that the huntsman was probably running away from them at that very moment, she smirked at the king, "Then I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, your majesty."

She proceeded to flip her sword in her hands, grabbing it by the blade with both and holding it above her head before quickly brining it down towards the David.

He blocked it, holding the handle of his sword with both hands to deal with the force of the blow.

And of course Emma anticipated this, her smirk becoming smug, before pulling her sword down and bringing the king's with it before thrusting upwards and causing the hilt of her sword to collide with the king's face.

He stumbled backwards, before another kick sent him to the ground.

Emma smiled down at him, and reached for her hood, pulling it down to reveal a mop of blonde hair and familiar eyes. She gave a small bow and then she bolted, disappearing into the shadows of the palace as a wolf howl pierced through the air.

David jumped to his feet, intending to go after her, but tripped over a rock and tumbled down again. He sat up, glancing back to see that it wasn't a rock, but a leather bag, possibly belonging to the intruder.

He reached for it, grabbing it as he heard his wife running towards him with a couple of knights behind her.

"Charming, are you okay, are you hurt?" She asked in concern, kneeling down next to him.

"I'm fine. It's alright." David answered, opening the leather bag as riffling through it, "She got away though."

"Where's the huntsman?" Snow asked, looking around.

"Ran off while we were figh..." David stopped, his eyes falling onto a very familiar item in the bag.

"Charming?"

He turned towards her, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small blanked, it's soft cream color faded and worn by time, the embroiled name slightly undone, but even then it was unmistakably their daughter's. Snow gasped, her eyes widening. She looked at her husband, seeing him staring with an expression of shock as he breathed, "The girl."

"What?"

"The woman that the evil queen sent. Snow, I didn't see her whole face, but she was young."

"You're saying that our daughter works for Regina?!" Snow exclaimed.

"No. I'm not." He got up, placing the blanket back into the leather satchel, before looking at Snow with a pleading gaze, "But we must stop her. She's run after the huntsman."

"What if you're wrong? What if that's the very person that took our child twenty years ago?"

"Either way, that girl is the only clue we have as to where our daughter is." David said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along as they walked to the entrance of the palace.

"Wait, where at we going?" Snow asked.

"Red's coming. And we're going to need her help."

* * *

-Present Time-

— •—• •—•—• •••• •— —• •••

"A second howl pierced through the air at that exact moment. Signaling the arrival of their friend at the entrance of the summer palace."

Emma stopped reading, closing the book as Mary Margaret walked through the glass door and stopped at the foot of the hospital bed, her hands folded in front of her as she waited, "Ready for your walk?"

"Almost." Emma said, slowly setting her feet down onto the floor, feeling them strain under her weight as she tested the waters. "Thanks for coming with me, I don't think I can last much longer in here."

"It's nothing, I'm supposed to be helping out anyways."

It was slightly chilly outside, as expected on a late spring day in Maine. Emma tugged her coat closer to herself as her and Mary Margaret walked through a nearby park. And as they did, Emma realized she could sense it outside the hospital too. Nothing felt...right.

But then again, Emma didn't know what 'right' meant, she'd forgotten, along with everything else. Clearly something had changed while she had been unconscious. But with no reference for comparison, all she had to go on was a gut feeling. Which didn't really count for anything...did it?

Eventually Mary Margaret broke their comfortable silence, "So, have you remembered anything?"

Emma frowned, "Nothing from before the accident, no."

"Maybe getting back to your old routine will help." Her friend suggested in a hopeful tone, her own optimism made up for what Emma's lacked.

"Maybe." It frustrated her, she used to be the sheriff, she used to be Emma Swan, she used to be Mary Margaret's friend and roommate, and now...who was she? "Can you tell me more about what I was like?"

"Of course." Her dark haired friend smiled as they walked along, "You were the sheriff, and my friend."

She'd swear those were the exact words Mary Margaret had said a few weeks ago after Emma had awakened. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Anything else?"

"It's all kind of a haze, it's been a while I supposed." Mary Margaret gave her a distant look, "You used to be the sheriff, and my friend."

"Okay. What about before that? Remember how we met?"

"I've known you since forever." Mary Margaret shrugged.

Weird...maybe she wasn't the only one suffering from memory loss. Emma wrapped her arms around herself, glancing at Mary Margaret in slight disappointment, "Can we go back now? In kind of freezing out here."

The walk back seemed to take less time than before, and before Emma knew it they were back in the hospital and she was back in her increasingly boring room. She said her goodbyes to Mary Margaret and then watched as her dark haired friend gave her a small smile and walked away.

She reached for the book again, flipping to the back and continuing on with the last story. It was titled the Queen And The Bounty Hunter, she'd already read the entire book, that and the television seemed to be her only entertainment. And in fact this was the second time she'd read the story.

"Good afternoon Miss Swan, still can't reach the remote?"

Emma jumped slightly, the book had taken all of her attention, well, not the book, the story, she could imagine it so well...she didn't even notice the mayor. Emma looked up, her eyes leaving the image of the bounty hunter running after the huntsman, to see Regina Mills smirking at her.

"It's Sunday, I can only get through so many infomercials. " Emma retorted, before an idea sparked in her mind, she briefly glanced away, considering it, before turning back to Regina, "I know this is going to sound odd, but can you tell me about me? Like, what was I like? I know you didn't know me well, but you'd at least have to know something, right?"

Regina pursed her lips, trying to think back, "You were the sheriff. I didn't know you well."

Strange. Emma pressed on, burying her confusion as best as she could, "What about when we met?"

"It's been a long time, I think. I don't remember it much."

"Okay." The blonde decided after a small moment of silence in which she tried to sort out whatever the hell was happening.

"Anyways I just came to check up on you. How is your recovery coming along?" The mayor asked her, genuinely interested.

"Well. I mean I still don't remember. But the doctor says I should be able to leave soon."

"I wish you good luck, then." Regina smiled, "Like I've mentioned before our sheriff could use your help once you're able."

"And as long as it doesn't involve staying here," Emma pointed at floor, her note light, "I'll be happy."

"I would imagine so."

••—• •— — •••• • •—• •••

He'd been waiting long enough. It was time for that retched curse to end, he'd become inpatient, especially being the only one that knew, well, except for dear old Jefferson, but that hasn't been up to him.

Mr. Gold they called him, but he wasn't Mr. Gold, although he had to admit it did amuse him. But his name, his name was Rumplestiltskin. And as luck would have it, the savior had finally awakened, which meant the time for action was here.

His phone started ringing, and and a smirk made its way onto his lips as he got up to answer it. "Good evening, Jefferson."

"She's awake." The voice at the other end of the line sounded impatient.

"Indeed."

"What happens now?"

"Well there's the tricky part of getting her to remember. But worry not. Soon enough the right opportunity will present itself, and that's when we will begin. For now though, keep watching."

"As long as I get my daughter back."

"And you will." And with that, Rumplestiltskin ended the conversation, setting the phone back down and striding back into his shop.

He walked behind a counter, bending down to pull up a dusty guitar case from underneath, and placing it on the table, grabbing a nearby rag to clean it off with a impish smirk plastered on his face.

He pulled the case open, revealing not a guitar, but a sword and its sheathe, the metal gleaming in the dim light and reflecting the wicked gleam of his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Feel free to press that review button and tell me what you think, predictions, constructive criticism, stuff.**


	5. Chapter 5: Fruits Of Labor

**I apologize for the wait, I procrastinated due to the shit that happened with SDCC. It's all behind me now. I only recently joined this ship, so I guess it wasn't that bad for me. **

**Moving along, I'm going to write even harder now, and give it my best because of the epic awesomeness of Swen, fellow** **Swan Queen shippers, you guys inspire me every single day. Nothing can sink us, our love and devotion to these characters and how perfectly matched they can become is what keeps us going, and I will ship this until I die, or possibly longer depending on what happens when people die.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I don't want to own them. If anything, some better writers of Swen should own them, I would pay millions for them if I had any money. So yep, don't own anything, not making any money.**

* * *

•—• ••— •—• •—• — ••• •

These things could be predicted simply by having common sense. Emma knew that eventually she would be found if she stayed in the palace much longer, but with the high alert and the hordes of guards currently walking around searching, it was better to wait it out in a hidden little corner than risk getting caught escaping. She would have to wait until things calmed down, which would be somewhat difficult and boring, she wasn't the most patient person out there.

The huntsman was still struggling, grunting and trying to catch her attention, the gag around his mouth doing little to shut him up. Emma turned to look at him, glaring, "I don't want to knock you out but I will unless you stop."

He did, looking at her in what little torch light reached the small cellar's window, his eyes pleading.

"What?" Emma questioned quietly, "You want to deliver some last words? Curse my nonexistent mother to hell?"

The huntsman shook his head, before trying to speak through the gag in a mumble of sounds that made absolutely no sense to Emma. She raised in eyebrow, "No, you probably want to tell me that you don't deserve this, that you didn't do anything wrong, and that I should let you go. Well, I've heard it all before."

He shook his head again, this time managing to miraculously mumble out a sound that resembled the word, "Truth."

"You want to tell me the truth? Oh, alright, let me ask you a few questions first, then I'll let you." Emma told him, sliding down the wall to sit on the dusty floor so she wouldn't have to hunch over due the height of the celling. She grabbed a piece of stale bread off a nearby shelf, taking a small bite and staring directly at the Huntsman's eyes, "Did you attempt to kill the queen's stepdaughter?"

And to her surprise, although she remained nonchalant, he nodded. The guilty didn't often admit to their crimes, but Emma figured she might as well go on with her small impromptu interrogation as a way to pass the time. But what to ask? She considered it for a minute, until another question came to mind, "Did you want to kill her?"

He shook his head. And she spotted the truth, reeling slightly in confusion she blurted out, "What?"

That part was perhaps most intriguing, "You tried to kill her, but you didn't wish to?"

And then, as she saw the truth once again in his eyes, she came to the startling realization that maybe she should have collected more information instead of jumping on the wagon so eagerly after a the bone of information on her origins had been through at her. What exactly had she gotten herself into this time?

_Shit_. Emma sighed, leaning back against the wall before her gaze settled back on her bounty, "I'm going to let you explain yourself, but if you so much as look like you're about to start shouting I will not hesitate to stop you."

He gave another nod and then Emma leaned over and untied the cloth over his mouth, tossing it aside as she sat back to her original position, "Explain yourself, quietly."

"She sent me after her stepdaughter, I couldn't kill her."

"Wait, the queen sent you to kill her own stepdaughter?"

"Yes. I couldn't do it. So she took my heart instead. But I managed to escape with it."

_Huh? Wait...what?!_ Emma's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"

"I was supposed to kill Snow White in—"

"Snow White?! Like the ruler of this castle?" Things were getting complicated. Emma didn't like complicated, complicated was too complicated. "But then...if she tried to kill Snow White, then that makes her...the Evil Queen."

The tales were right. The Frozen kingdom was coming to life again. All the stories were true then. Emma breathed out, "How did I not see that? I mean all that leather!"

She shook her head, trying to decide what the hell she should do next. Oh god, if only she'd asked more questions, if only she'd been more observant. But no, Emma had to be impatient on a chance that could now very well turn out to be a trick. Because the the queen was evil, according to the stories, and the huntsman that escaped with his heart.

And just as she got deeper into that train of thought it was derailed, because it wasn't her lucky day, and there was a knock on the cellar's small wooden door, and then an unfamiliar voice, "We know you're in there, we just want to talk."

Shit.

* * *

-Present Time-

— • — — •—• —•—

_"So what happened?"_

_"What do you mean, dear? And move along a bit faster, we need to get out before your parents arrive."_

_"I could try reasoning with them." Emma suggested, speeding up to keep up with the brisk pace of the queen as they made they walked along a dark corridor dimly lit by torches._

_"They would not believe you. In fact they would think you must be under a spell, one of mine." The queen told her, looking straight ahead, dressed for traveling by horse in dark leather pants that matched her vest and shirt. "It would be much simpler if we leave now."_

_"Okay. " Emma decided, "But you still haven't answered my question."_

_"Only because you failed to clarify it."_

_"How did you become evil in the first place, what happened to you?"_

_The queen stopped, and Emma walked a few steps past her before realizing it, and turning around. She waited for the other woman to answer, her eyes locking with Regina's dark brown ones. There was a sadness there, behind the darkness, behind all the other emotions, hidden away for Emma to only catch it's vast shadow._

_"I learned the law of life, bounty hunter."_

_"And what's that?"_

_"Love is weakness."_

Emma opened her eyes, the dream already fading, she rolled over catching the time on her alarm clock. It was earlier than it needed to be. But she couldn't go back to sleep.

Her dreams were always like that, reincarnated from the pages of her storybook, specifically the last story. She had spent hours lying on her mattress just thinking about what the hell they could mean, and why exactly had Regina been cast as the evil queen in the confines of Emma's subconscious, especially when the Mayor had been nothing but kind to her. It was yet another thing to add to the mystery of her life.

Mary Margaret's apartment was quiet. Quiet and small, and although there was a sense of warmth to it, it seemed to lack something in its atmosphere. What? Emma didn't know. She had been released from the hospital a week ago, a week spent resting before she started working.

When Mary Margaret finally made it out of her room she found Emma at the small dining table munching on a bowl of fruit loops, her green eyes squinting at nothing in particular indicating she was deep in thought.

"Good morning." Mary Margaret greeted on her way to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast. "Excited to get back to work?"

"Sure." Emma said absentmindedly, still occupied with ruminating on the meaning of dreams.

"Something on your mind?" Her friend asked, sitting down at the table with a bagel and a glass of orange juice. "Nervous about today?"

Emma glanced up, "Nope."

"Not even a little bit?"

"I have every right to be. If I was. But I'm not. I'm fine."

"Okay." Mary Margaret told her with a knowing look and an encouraging smile, "You'll do great."

Emma stared at her friend, and for a second her mind flashed back to her book, overlaying the image of Snow White and Mary Margaret in her head. She blinked, realizing that they were completely different. One was fictional, made up, the other real.

"Well, anyways, I've got some children to teach," Mary Margaret said, getting up and walking to the door.

"Yeah, I have to go too." Emma realized, shoving her thoughts to the back of her head with the intent to ignore them for the rest of the day. "First day of work, I don't think I want to be late."

It was a very important day after all, more important than she knew.

* * *

-Eight Years Ago-

•—• • •••— • —• —• •

"Say that we did talk," Emma responded as she tried to figure out if she could fit through the extremely tiny window. "What would we talk about?"

"We won't hurt you. We just want to know why she sent you, and who you are?" The voice sounded feminine, with a certain kind of strength to it, not exactly threatening, but her tone suggested that she was restless, or anxious about something. It probably had something to do with Emma.

"I'm a bounty hunter, she sent me after a bounty." Emma told them, before suddenly remembering something else, "Oh, right. She also wanted me to deliver a message."

"What does she want?"

"She said, 'enjoy your family reunion, it won't last long'. And don't even think to ask me what that's about, because lady, I haven't the slightest clue." Someone gasped on the other side of the door, and then Emma felt slightly out of the loop, wondering if perhaps the people out there knew something she didn't about that message she'd just delivered. Or maybe her impression of the evil queen's voice was just too damn perfect.

"Look, we found your bag, and there's this baby blanket in there, and I just...I need to know, is it yours?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Emma demanded, getting to her feet.

"Is it yours?" It was odd, the woman's voice sounded so...desperate as if the question was causing her physical pain, yet she said it so quietly...like she was about to fall apart.

And Emma reluctantly gave in, still completely clueless as to why the hell this was relevant to her current situation, unaware of what she would unintentionally reveal, "Yes."

The door burst open and Emma unsheathed her sword, pointing I directly at a dark haired woman just outside the doorway. Her eyes were moist and close to tears, and behind her stood the man Emma had fought earlier, his hand intertwined with hers as he too stared at Emma.

Their eyes bore into every square inch of her, gazes filled with so much emotion, with pain and hope, and tears starting to spill. Emma swallowed, this had just gotten even more complicated.

And then the dark haired woman spoke, her voice filled with so much emotion that The bounty hunter almost flinched at the single word spoken, "Emma?"

"Hello." She said after an uncomfortable moment of silence in which she unsuccessfully tried to figure out what was going on. She raised an eyebrow and looked around in confusion, "And who might you be?"

The woman stumbled slightly over her words, almost as if she realized how clueless Emma felt, "Um...I...I'm Snow."

"Snow White?" Emma guessed, there was something stirring in the back of her mind, a realization waiting to happen as soon as she put the pieces of whatever it was together.

The queen nodded, and Emma felt the need to clarify the changes made to her to do list, "Okay. Before anyone does something foolish, I'd like to say something. First, I no longer intend to turn in the huntsman. Second, Locking me up is not advisable, but it is understandable, either way I'll leave and you'll never see me again."

She probably shouldn't have said the last part. But unlike the barrage of palace guards rushing in to the tiny room to shred her to pieces that she expected, she got an intriguing offer from Snow, "We're not going to imprison you, if that's what you're thinking. Instead I think we need to talk."

"Alright." Emma motioned in a circle with her sword, still keeping it pointed towards the doorway, successfully, at least in her opinion, keeping everyone from coming in. The dark haired woman in front of her had already wiped her tears away and replaced them with a look of determination and warmth towards Emma, which only added to her discomfort.

"I meant somewhere else. Preferably without swords drawn."

"After you, your majesty." Emma said, eyeing the guards and wishing they would just disappear.

And they did. With a quick order from Snow White, they were gone and off to do normal things.

And then Emma had to return the favor and follow the two royals. Still confused, slightly frustrated, definitely annoyed with her day so far, but curious, curious about what would happen next.

* * *

** Hello, it's me, the writer, I just want to say: Feel free to comment on this chapter, ask any questions, predictions always amuse me, instructive criticism is welcomed, I always consider it. Pointing out my mistakes is awesome I love that, seriously, I always miss the stupid mistakes, guess I'm just dumb like that. **

**Also, I'm pretty sure I used the word Unintentional in there somewhere. See what I did there? Yep. I'm gonna go cross that off my to do list.**

**Next chapter is coming soon, not sure when, not making any promises, I suck at keeping the simple ones. Just soon. Mostly because the next chapter is the one I've been looking forward to writing since I started this story. **

**Goodbye. I'll be back soon. Next chapter is titled Perseus, by the way. **


	6. Chapter 6: Perseus

**Hello, finally updated, longest chapter yet. 3 thousand plus words. Hurray. **

**Thanks of all of your wonderful reviews. Hopefully this chapter answers at least some of your questions, but I'm afraid I can't reveal everything just yet. **

**Dislcaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

-Eight Years Ago-  
• — •••• •• — •—• •• •—

"Twenty years ago, our child was stolen away only moments after her birth. It happened right before the spell froze the entire kingdom."

"So I've been told." Emma said impatiently, fidgeting with her hands as they rested on the large round wooden table on which Snow White, King James and she herself sat. Emma at one end, while the king and queen were situated directly in front of her. "But was does that have to do with me?"

"Well, we sent a good friend to look for her soon after we were unfrozen, and she traced the child all the way to the border of our kingdom. Our daughter, she escaped." The king provided.

"And you want me to find her?"

"No." Snow stated, looking at Emma with that intensely emotional gaze she had used before.

"We've already found her." David finally said, after seeing the confused look on his daughters face. He could see it, in the light of their war room, she looked like them, in the color of her hair, in the defiant glint in her eyes, identical in color to Snow's. He didn't need confirmation, the girl was his daughter, a princess that grew up to become a bounty hunter.

"I fail to see how it all comes back to me." Emma told them, growing restless, not having the slight idea of what the hell was going on, anger surged into her veins. She promptly stood up, her chair scraping loudly in protest as her hands pounded on the table, her eyes searching the royals for an answer she could actually understand. Why was she here? Why hadn't they thrown her ass into a dungeon? What the hell did they want?

She leaned forward, hands still firmly planted on the round table, eyes still locked on to the queen's, ignoring the unsettling look of...was that concern? What the hell for? Emma brushed the distraction aside as she finally questioned, "What are you so horribly trying to tell me?"

"We found her...today, when we found you." Snow finally admitted, and Emma stopped breathing, seemingly stuck in the same position as her heart dropped to her stomach.

Her eyebrows shot up, green eyes becoming moist until her sight got blurry, "No. No, I...I was abandoned, far, very far from here. You must be mistaken."

"We're not, I look at you, and I see myself, I see your father. And I'm incredibly sorry we could not be there for you." Snow told her, tears spilling from her eyes, "You probably hate us, but please, believe us. We're telling you the truth."

"I know!" Emma yelled. She stepped back stumbling over her chair, "But it doesn't change anything. I still grew up alone."

"And we can't make it up to you." David said, rising from his chair to approach her, "But please, allow us to try. Stay, here with us, just for a few days."

"We want to know you. We want to be there for you." The queen said, walking to her husband's side until the pair were standing directly in front of Emma.

The bounty hunter stared at them, overwhelmed as adrenaline poured through her veins and told her to run like hell was chasing after her.

But she couldn't run, no. Something was keeping her feet nailed to the ground she stood on. Perhaps it was her newly discovered parents, the hope that rang through their voices and poured from their eyes.

She took a deep breath, looked out the nearest window and then decided she didn't want to commit suicide. "I need to retrieve my horse, I left her near the palace, I left the rest of my belongings there."

"Oh. Okay." Snow said, wondering if that was perhaps the only reason. "Please, come back. We have so much more to discuss."

"I will." Emma told them as she walked towards the exit, "I just...I need a moment to breathe."

"I'll show you the way out." James volunteered, but was stopped when Emma turned around.

"I remember how we got here. It's fine." She told him, before continuing on her way and disappearing into the stone corridors.

David turned towards his wife, finding her in tears. Without a second's thought he rushed towards her, holding her tight as his own tears fell.

"We found her." Snow whispered, a small smile gracing her lips.

"She found us."

* * *

-Present Time-

•— •— —•• •—• — — • —•• •—

"Listen I have to go. Mr gold just called about a robbery." David told her as he pulled on his jacket on his way out, before stopping to look back at Emma, "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Emma said, waving him off from her where she was sitting at her desk.

"Alright, just call me if anything else happens."

"I will." She nodded at him and then watched as the sheriff left. When he was gone she spun around in her chair to return to her computer monitor where a rather difficult game of solitaire was displayed. She looked at it, eyes glazed with boredom.

Small, tiny, little town. Nothing ever happened. Ugh. She would rather fight a dragon. If only they were real. She sighed, leaning back against her chair, game of solitaire forgotten as different thoughts took over her head.

It was her second day on the job. And indeed there wasn't much to do. She was just an assistant really. Answering phones, filing papers, eating bear claws.

The sheriff was nice enough, his name was David Nolan, a very caring man, always going to help those in need no matter the task.

There was that feeling of familiarity to him too, almost familial, just like Mary Margaret. Emma had asked him if they had known each other before too.

Which brought her to her current train of thought. Because his response was the exactly as she expected.

You used to be the sheriff. I didn't know you well.

Maybe the whole freaking town was in on it. Trying to make her crazy with that damn sentence they all kept repeating like a mantra.

You used to be the sheriff.

Yes, thanks for telling me something so fucking useless. I needed to hear it.

Whomever she asked to tell her anything about her, her past, that's all they answered. You used to be the sheriff. Or its equally frustrating variation: You were the sheriff.

So what the hell was going on?

Then there was also the subtle feeling of uncertainty that always hung around her, something was off. Something didn't belong here in this town and it was most likely her.

She sighed, leaning back against her chair. She would have to find out what was going on. Maybe something had happened, maybe she had done something. Something that caused the entire town to tell her the same thing.

She looked over to her computer monitor, trying to find if there was a spot where she could put a nine of hearts.

And then the phone rang.

And she reached for it, yanking it roughly and nearly slamming it into her ear out of frustration.

And then she had something to do.

* * *

-Eight Years Ago-  
— •—• •— —•—• •—•• •

Emma liked to think that she was a rational person, and that she didn't plan on getting as far away from this kingdom as she could. But she couldn't do at good job at deceiving herself.

She wanted to run. So very bad, and forget about them, the king and queen, back in their lavish castle, flaunting the life she could've had. But that wasn't all, no. She had grown up without them, hating them, cursing them to hell, and thinking they were dead. And as she grew up, her theories changed, she told herself that the worse ones were the ones most likely to be true. That she was a mistake born out of intoxication and a night of misjudgment on a young maiden's part. Abandoned because of shame.

She had hoped for the best. That her parents had died, or were too poor to take care of her. But she never really believe she would ever meet them, or know the truth if she did.

Emma would have loved to call the bunch liars, tell them she wasn't there, their orphan was at another castle or something. But she saw herself in them, saw the similarities, heard the truth in their eyes.

And then everything clicked in. Every piece of the puzzle. The message she had delivered for the Queen, the question about her baby blanket. This had all been planned, by her, the evil queen, who didn't seem so evil at first.

The guards had let her go, direct orders from the king and queen. A few of them offered to escort her, weaving tales of the dangers that lurked in the forest. But she waved them off, pulling the dark cloak the evil queen had given her tighter against her as the cold air of the early morning finally got to her.

Her horse was still there, and she smiled, the solitude of the woods calming her worries, lightening the heavy weight that pushed at her shoulders.

She reached up, her hand running the spot between the dark mare's eyes.

"You know, you shouldn't be out here all by yourself. You never know who you might run into."

Emma spun around, sword unsheathed, finding that the unknown voice did not have a visible owner. She tensed, scanning every square inch of the forest, turning around slowly.

But then as her back was turned the voice returned, high pitched and child like, with an undertone that was dangerously unstable, "You have your father's rashness, but do you have his skill?"

Emma spun around again, finding a sword inches from her throat. Her eyes glanced up and then widened at the strange sight in front of her. It was a man, probably, with scaly skin and reptilian eyes that were gold and lacked any sense of sanity.

"Well, dearie, if you're not going to start..." The man giggled, and then proceeded to swing at her face.

She acted quickly, lifting her sword to block it before taking a step back and away from his swinging range.

"Oh, much better. You'll do well." He said, moving forward and stabbing at thin air as she swiftly moved out of the way once again. He eyed her dark cloak, pursing his lips in contemplation, before lunging for Emma again.

Their fight moved faster then, and Emma found that although the man was slim he was extremely powerful and fast, swinging his sword relentlessly until Emma's muscles ached. Still though, no one had lost any limbs and the fight seemed to be even.

But all the sudden the bastard managed to disarm her.

And then everything slowed as he moved forward, sword outstretched, and stabbed her.

The blade went right through her, literally, she felt nothing, no pain, no injuries. All she knew was that her cloak suddenly had an odd purple glint to it. And then the sword was gone, and the strange man in front of her smirked.

Emma was sick if surprises. They tended to complicate things for her. She hated complicated situations.

The bounty hunter looked towards the man, "What the hell was that for?"

"Just curious about your cloak, dearie. It's a nice one, I suggest hold on to it."

"Who are you?"

"Rumplestiltskin." He gave a small bow, his voice climbing higher, before lowering again as he said, "You know there's a prophesy about you. You're supposed to stop a curse."

"What?" Emma had heard about Rumplestilkin, the dark one, the deal maker, altogether someone that must always be avoided.

"There's a curse coming, princess. It will be worse than that insignificant little freezing spell. It will take everything from us. It will trap us in limbo."

He wasn't lying, Emma knew it. But it still didn't make sense. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't want to be trapped anymore. And you're the only one that can stop the darkness, you're the savior. A child born of true love."

"And why should I even trust you?"

"Because I'm not lying." Rumplestiltskin, "And you know it. Now, aren't you going to ask how to stop it?"

Emma thought about it, there was a curse coming, that much was true, although his reasons for wanting her to stop it were vague. Why not, "How?"

"I'll need to borrow your sword in exchange for that tidbit of information, dearie." He said, pointing to the sword as it lay a few feet away.

"Okay." It was only a sword.

He moved to grab the sword, bouncing from excitement, before turning back towards her, "Well, it's the Evil Queen's curse, you'll need her help to stop it. And it can only be you and her, no one else. The one that cast it and the one destined to stop it."

"Wait, the evil queen?"

"Yes. I'm assuming you know her. After all why else would she put a protection spell on your cloak?" And then he was gone in a cloud of red smoke, leaving Emma behind, the answers that she'd received bringing up more questions than she had to begin with.

One stood out prominently in her head. The cloak...it was enchanted, with a protection spell. What for? If the queen knew about Emma's parents and if she really did hate Snow White as much as it was told in the stories, then did that mean that she had sent Emma to the palace knowing she would encounter her parents?

Was that her revenge?

But then why enchant her cloak? Why insist on Emma wearing it? Wouldn't it be a far greater revenge to Snow White if she unintentionally killed or injured her own child?

Apparently the woman had something else in mind. And Emma had absolutely no idea when it came to that.

But something was certain. The evil queen seemed far too clever to send her to only retrieve the huntsman. Unless she didn't know who Emma's parents were. But that couldn't be it. She had her know-it-all resources.

Emma scowled, hoisting herself up into the saddle of her horse as she decided that she couldn't run this time. She had to warn the king and queen about Rumplestilking and his words.

She really hoped it wasn't a mistake to stick around.

* * *

-Present Time-  
— • —•• ••— ••• •—

"I was just heading home, I'm afraid I can't offer you much of my time." Regina said, sorting through the papers on her desk and filling them into their corresponding folders.

"It's fine. This will only take a second."

"Alright then, what can I do for you Mr. Jefferson?"

The man in front of her smirked, leaning back on one of leather chairs in front of her desk and pulling off his top hat to rest it on his lap. "I was just wondering about Emma Swan."

"What about her?" She asked, absentmindedly, gathering her things.

"Why is it that you've been visiting a comatose patient irregularly for the past eight years?"

She froze, the truth was, no one had ever asked that. And for the most part, she wasn't entirely sure. She blamed it on the guilt she had gotten from finding the younger woman and then being unable to stop her from falling into a coma.

Then there was the matter of her dreams, and the worry that had come with them along with the conscious desire to see if Emma was okay. As if she cared, but Regina didn't care about anything...except herself. So why? Her uncertainty was shoved back as her professional default rose up to take over. "_That_ is my business."

"Pardon my curiosity then. But it is odd that you would visit for so long without any obvious connection to her."

"Is that all."

"Yeah. Good luck, Madam Mayor." He said, jumping to his feet and placing the top hat back on his head dramatically before strolling out the door before she even got the chance to ask why she needed luck.

And so the mayor returned to gathering her files and papers and neatly organizing and putting them back where they belonged.

Until ten minutes later, when the subject of her earlier conversation burst through the door with a fire extinguisher, practically panting from overexertion. Emma's green eyes spotted her at the other end of her office and then the blonde was charging at her, "Come on! We have to go!"

"What?"

"You're telling me you don't know the building's on fire?!" Emma stopped, before grabbing her wrist and tugging her along, "Seriously?"

The mayor tried to unsuccessfully yank her hand out of the blonde's grasp, still being half dragged through the hallway as Emma made her way out of the building. "I would know if there was a f—"

Regina's words died in her mouth as she spotted an open doorway at the foot of the stairs, completely covered by smoke and glowing bright orange. Her heart started thrashing about in her rib cage, fear seeping into her mind.

She stopped struggling against Emma's pull and instead hurried along with her.

Emma's hand slid down from her wrist to intertwine with the mayor's fingers as the blonde led her out through the burning hot flames and the dark smoke that burned their lungs every time they took a breath, until they made it past the front door, the sound of fire trucks and ambulances already filling the air.

Emma looked back towards the Mayor, "You okay?"

"Yes. I believe so." Regina nodded, before, reluctantly, she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Emma smiled.

Regina felt an urge to return it, but nodded instead, looking around for a distraction. She spotted a group of citizens gathering around them, curiously staring at the only major development of perhaps the year. Her eyes fell on the one single individual that wore a smug smirk on his face, his head missing a top hat, Jefferson.

At the same time, Emma noticed the Mayor's body tensed, her hand gripping Emma's. The blonde followed Regina's gaze, spotting an unfamiliar looking man that stood a bit apart from the main group of onlookers. He grinned at them, chuckling silently before turning to walk away.

Emma turned towards the Mayor, "Who's that?"

"Jefferson. He visited just before you did."

Emma squinted through the darkness watching Jefferson's body disappear in the distance as the mayor's silent implication was understood. She looked over at the Regina, locking eyes with her, "I need you to stay here."

And then Emma proceeded to brush away a pair off paramedics in order to follow the mysterious stranger that could have possibly set fire to city hall. Completely unaware of the worried pair of brown eyes that were following her.

It was surprisingly easy. The guy walked at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow. Emma trailed him for a small while, and stopping to watch as he entered a small thrift shop.

She took a deep breath, and then realized that she was still clutching the fire extinguisher from city hall. She set it down on the side walk, unsure of what awaited her inside the store, and then started on her way.

The sign on the door informed her that the store was closed, but she ignored it, the bell above ringing as she pushed past the door, her green eyes spotting a man in a suit as he leaned on a display counter, hands hidden behind a closed guitar case.

He gave a small knowing smile, eyes twinkling with mischief, "Did you forget how to read as well? The sign says closed."

"I didn't come here to buy anything."

"Oh yes." The man said, reaching over the counter to unclasp the guitar case in front of him, "It's time I returned this to you."

"What? I never..." She couldn't finish the sentence, because as the man flipped open the guitar case.

Emma didn't see a guitar. She saw sword, a very familiar sword. Her sword.

Her hands reached up to her head, a pounding head ache hitting her suddenly, as a barrage of memories started to bombard her brain, piece by piece of the missing puzzle, until the realization of everything that plagued her became known.

She was the bounty hunter, the one in her book, the one unable to stop the curse. The one responsible for everyone else's unhappiness. Emma glanced back at the man, knowing that he was Rumplestiltskin.  
And he still had that damn smirk on his face.

"You bastard." She growled, turning around and almost breaking the door as she slammed past it.

* * *

**As always, feel free to comment, criticize constructively, ask a question, correct my super stupid mistakes, give a prediction, or just tell me what you think. **

**VIVA LA SWAN QUEEN!**

**shadow out. **

(P.s. Don't be afraid of the review button, it's really quite adorable, I mean just look at that button :)


	7. Chapter 7: Default Defenses

**Hello, I'm really sorry for the late update. Hopefully the next update will be up next week. **

**In the meantime. Here ya go, thanks for sticking around. Really Really really sorry you had to wait.**

_The writing in italics means its a flashback._

**_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, very bad things would happen. _**

* * *

-Present Time-

"_I think we've already gone through this, now LET. ME. OUT!" Emma shouted, once again trying to yank on the heavy iron bars and peer through the darkness in hopes of spotting her, "I need your help!"_

"_And why would you need my help?"_

"_Rumplestiltskin said there was a curse coming, that you're the only one that knows how to stop it."_

_The evil queen, or so Emma was told, finally stepped into the torchlight, her expression controlled and stoic, but her voice, her voice was frigid and menacing, "Tell me, bounty hunter, no, enlighten me; what is your ludicrous reason as to why I should help you?"_

"_Because it's the right thing to do."_

"_I'm the Evil Queen for the precise reason of doing the _wrong_ things."_

_Emma leaned closer to the bars, her eyes searching the queen's for any emotion, her tone soft, "But you don't want it."_

"_I don't want what, dear?"_

"_Your title. You don't want to be evil, do you?"_

"_What makes you think that?" The brunette asked. There was a glint in her eyes, one that Emma recognized as a sliver of emotion showing through her mask._

"_There's a certain sadness in your eyes, I've seen it before. You don't regret anything you've done because you haven't stopped to think about it. But when you finally stop plotting long enough for it to happen, you'll have to face every mistake you didn't pay for, and it's going to knock you off your feet. You don't want that, never did. Save us all and you'll be able to live with yourself when it happens."_

Emma stumbled through the streets, still clutching her head with both hands, trying to hold in the throbbing in her brain. The head ache hadn't left, and it had been hours, maybe. She hadn't gone back to Mary Margaret's apartment, there was no way in hell she was going to face her mother, who didn't remember her. No one remember, except her, and it was ironic, since technically Emma was supposed to have memory loss.

And what about Regina, what about the Mayor, the one she'd just pulled out of a burning building, she was the Evil Queen.

And Emma hated her.

But if Mary Margaret was different that Snow White, then did that mean the same for Regina?

The Evil Queen couldn't remember who she had been prior to the curse, meaning all that pain, all that anger, had been either wiped clean, or buried deep within the confines of her mind.

And now Emma had to break the damn curse just to get her answers.

"Ugh. I hate magic." She muttered, failing to notice just where she was until the distinct sound of a door opening called her attention and her head whipped around.

No. Her hands dropped from her head as the Mayor rushed towards her, "Miss Swan? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Emma tried to brush her off, completely unaware of the fact that she was swaying slightly until slender fingers wrapped around her arm and steadied her.

"What happened to you?"

It wasn't the question that unnerved Emma. It was the tone, Regina sounded and looked concerned, concerned over Emma. It was painful really, because she had only seen the completely unguarded look of worry the mayor was giving her once before. And it had been right before everything between them had gone to hell and she had awoken with amnesia in a small town belonging to a completely different world.

Emma yanked her arm out of the mayor's grasp, cringing slightly at the hurt that had flashed in her dark eyes, and started stumbling away.

"I'm fine." She murmured more to herself than to the mayor, although Regina still managed to hear her.

"You don't appear to be." She commented, tentatively taking a step forward.

Emma stopped and spun around, sudden anger boiling up to the surface, into a grimace, into a glare aimed not at the Mayor but at her past self. "Alright. I'm not. I'm pissed, because for the first time in a while, I know what the hell is going on. And it's not pretty, Regina. It's all a fucking mess! And it's my fucking fault."

Emma didn't wait to see how the other woman reacted. No, the savior simply walked away on shaky feet with all the grace of a new born.

The mayor watched her, eyebrows furrowed with confusion...and although she was confused on what exactly Emma had meant, there was also something else nagging her.

Regina thought she would stop worrying about Emma after she woke up from the comma, that her feelings were caused by the guilt of finding her and not being able to help until the paramedics arrived. But now that the blonde was better she still...cared.

Why was that?

* * *

-Eight Years Earlier -

"Is this true?" King James asked, hiding his distress in practiced authority.

Across from him the blue fairy nodded, solemnly, "She is the savior. Destined for it."

"Then we must not delay. You have to stop the curse as soon as possible." James stated, looking straight at Emma.

"Wait, I not quite sure I should do this. I'm a bounty hunter, I can't stop curses." Admitted Emma, leaning forward, uncertainty in her green eyes.

"But you must, it's in the prophesy." One of the dwarfs, Emma kept confusing them, reminded.

Another dwarf, with round spectacles perched upon his nose added, "A prophesy always comes true."

She glanced towards her newfound parents, and found similar expressions on their faces as they looked back at her, both seeming to nonverbally say, 'He's right'

Emma huffed, leaning back on her chair, all she had wanted to do was warn them, tell them what Rumpelstiltsking had said. Now, it seemed, they were going to prepare her for some sort of quest.

She was right though, she was a bounty hunter, not a princess, not a knight, not a sorceress, and definitely not the hero they thought she could be. She didn't know how the hell to stop this curse from happening.

Emma wasn't their savior.

She wasn't the daughter they needed.

But she couldn't really leave them all to suffer...that wasn't right. She felt guilty just thinking about it.

These were good, innocent people, depending on her. It made her want to run all over again, far far away, to a different kingdom, off to wonderland even.

Emma couldn't leave them.

But she couldn't save them alone either.

If she was really going to do this, Emma needed the Evil Queen, like that imp had told her. The Queen was the only one who knew how to stop the curse. Although Emma doubted the woman would be willing to help. But a bit if persuasion wouldn't hurt.

And so the bounty hunter took a deep breath, and sat up to face the small group of people her voice breaking the silence that had fallen over them, "We're still going to need her help, you know. She's the only one that knows how to stop it."

"The last thing on that witch's mind is helping anyone." Another dwarf, Grumpy, Emma thought, she remembered the name because it suited him so well.

"There's no one else to go to." Emma pointed out, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand as her elbow slid over the table.

"We could make her tell us," James suggested, "her troops have dwindled, we could easily march over to the winter palace she calls home and over take it."

"She still has magic." Snow reminded him.

"We've dealt with that before."

"No. Let's not act so rash," Emma frowned, "I think I can convince with her without having to resort to threats."

"She is not getting near you." James said. And beside him Snow added, "We don't want to lose you again, and we can't trust her."

"I can handle it. She didn't kill me before."

"She wanted something from you!" James protested.

"And I'm still confused on what exactly that was! I need her to answer some of my questions, and I need her help. Storming into her castle will only anger her. "

"But trusting her will only end in disappointment." Snow told her in a tone that suggested she spoke from personal experience.

Emma looked around the table, finally realizing that everyone in the room, except for her, hated the Evil Queen. There was no way to reason with them. Naturally, she tried anyways, "Is this the only option you can think of?"

"It is. Emma, you don't know how cruel and ruthless she is." The king said, "We do."

The bounty hunter frowned, getting up and shoving her chair in. She turned address the council one more time before walking out, "Then I have nothing else to say."

* * *

-Present Time -

Emma opened her eyes, the bright sunlight becoming too unbearable to keep sleeping. The first thing she glimpsed was a seagull flying high above.

She sat up, leaning back against the public bench she had managed to sleep on. She had somehow ended up in the harbor, near the old sardine cannery. Her head ache was gone, but her body was sore from sleeping on a hard surface.

Emma unsuccessfully tried not to think about anything that had happened the day before. But eventually she made a choice.

She started heading for the dinner; Mary Margaret was going to be there. She had avoided it for far too long. But Emma needed a reminder as to why she had to break the curse. Her mother didn't remember her, or her father, they were apart, torn from each other, and she would guess that everyone else in town was in a similar situation.

This was her fault after all. And now she had to fix it. No matter what. Even if it meant that Regina would regain her memories of being the Evil Queen.

Emma knew what would happen then, the mayor was kinder, less guarded, everything Regina had previously done would hit her hard if she were to remember. And Emma didn't want to see that.

"What happened to you?"

Emma blinked, glancing up to see her mother, well not really. If anything had become startlingly clear in that very moment it was that Snow White and Mary Margaret Blanchard were completely different people.

"I'm going to tell you right now." Emma said, sliding into the seat in front of the school teacher. Mary Margaret simply waited patiently for Emma to being, noting that her friend looked like she hadn't slept all night. The blonde sported disheveled hair and clothing, her eyes bloodshot, disposition on the verge of mental breakdown.

And then, hesitantly, Emma started, "After the whole fire thing I remembered some things...from before the accident."

"Emma, that's great." Her friend smiled at her, before confusion furrowed her eyebrows at the Emma's grimace, "Isn't it?"

"Yes, somewhat. Except that I guess I don't know everything I wish I did."

"Okay." Mary Margaret said, not quite sure if what to make of Emma's vague answer. "At least you're making progress."

"Yeah." Emma responded, her eyes wandering over to the door as it the mayor stepped through it. She turned back to Mary Margaret with a slightly apologetic smile, "I'll be right back."

Regina was waiting for her breakfast. Sitting in solitude on one of the stools at the counter with the posture of her former self. Perhaps some aspects had remained the same. Although Emma had been quick to realize after regaining her memories that Regina seemed to be missing an integral part of herself. Or perhaps it wasn't missing, just repressed, but the passion, the intense emotions that always glinted dangerously in her eyes, it was diluted. She seemed almost innocent. And that was something Emma would never get used to.

"Hello." Emma tried, taking a seat next to her.

Regina stiffed a bit, slowly turning towards Emma with a polite smile, fake, but polite nonetheless,"Good morning Miss Swan."

Emma gave her an apologetic look, quickly becoming entranced by her her hands as the fidgeted with the collar of her jacket. "I'm sorry about last night. I was rude to you when you showed me kindness."

"That's alright. I presume you had valid reasons for your behavior."

"I suppose. But it's not an excuse and I still need to apologize."

"And you're feeling better?"

"Yeah." Somehow, as surprisingly as it is, they shifted from an awkward apology attempt to a comfortable conversation, maybe it's Regina and the extreme contrast against Emma's memory of the Evil Queen, or maybe it's the fact that although they aren't the same, they sort of are. Regina has her barriers too, hiding behind the mask of a Mayor just like she his behind the crown of a queen.

And somehow, Emma thought, that version of Regina was closer to the girl that saved Snow White than the one in the Enchanted Forest had ever been.

"Thanks," Emma said, quietly, "For your concern."

"Well, I'm sure I wasn't the only one." The mayor nodded towards Mary Margaret, who was probably still watching them semi-discretely from behind her coffee mug.

"Right." Emma chuckled, catching the school teacher and giving a small wave, "I'll see you around, Madam Mayor. "

The smile Regina gave her was small, but genuine. And it both broke her heart and mended it together.

She walked back to Mary Margaret in turmoil. And then, as her thoughts sped through her head, one was suddenly detailed, and she got an idea worthy of a prize.

"What was that about?" Mary Margaret asked curiously as Emma made it to their table.

"I'll tell you on the way to the station, I forgot my things there last night." Emma motioned for her to follow.

* * *

-Eight Years Earlier -

"What's wrong?"

"I'm pretty sure I already said that." Emma told her newly found mother as she fidgeted with her dark red cloak. She had taken off the one the queen had given to her for everyone else's sake. She rather liked it, it was warm, intimidating, and useful, but the awkwardness that came with wearing the ultimate enemy's cloak was unwanted.

"You don't agree with us?"

Emma looked away, hiding an exasperated look that was given away by the tone of her voice, "Why can't we just ask her? No storming a castle, no launching a siege."

Snow frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in concern, "Did she do anything to you? While you were trapped there?"

"What?" Emma fumed, "No! She didn't do anything to me. Why would you think that?"

"Well, she's the—"

"The Evil Queen." Emma finished for her, turning around and walking away, "And that means everything."

Snow looked after the retreating form of her daughter with worry.

Emma on the other hands started thinking of a plan.

And later, when night had fallen, when darkness had covered everything in black, a cloak slid pass the shadows of the castle. A cloak belonging to the Evil Queen.

There was no other way. At least not one Emma could see. And maybe her decision had been impulsive, but it was the right thing to do...right?

No one needed to be attacked, no one needed to fight. And in this way, no one would. No risks, except her own, but that was okay. She could not be responsible for others in anymore ways than she already was.

Emma pulled the strap of her bag, pulling it closer. Her emotions were unusually peaceful, not at all what she expected when she thought of sneaking out of a palace in order to convince a potentially dangerous individual, who most likely wanted to kill her considering her bloodline, to help save mortal enemies.

It was going to be difficult.

She reached the stables, spotting her borrowed horse at the far end, and before she knew it, she was riding away through the forest.

-Present Time -

"So, is there anything else you might want to tell me?" Mary Margaret asked her as they walked through the streets of StoryBrooke on a Saturday morning.

"Well, like I said, last night I remembered some things. And I guess I didn't like some of those things. So, I lashed out on the first person I came across."

"And who was that?"

"The Mayor."

"Oh." Her realized, although she was still missing a piece of the puzzle, "And how did that go?"

"Not well. But it wasn't completely disastrous seeing that I still have my job." Emma explained as the Sheriff's station came into sight. "I apologized this morning, if that explains anything. "

"Sorry for staring, it's just, she's usually pretty solitary."

"Really?" Emma asked, "Perhaps she could use a friend."

"Yeah."

"Hey, you know David?"

"The Sheriff?"

Emma nodded, opening the station door, "Come on then, you guys can talk about me while I get my stuff."

* * *

**A/N: Feel free to comment, don't flame, sparkle, meaning I always carefully consider constructive criticism. I do want to get better, go ahead and point out any mistakes. **

**Ship and let ship, **

**and Viva La Swan Queen. **

**Next Chapter Title: Foreshadowed Unknowns**


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